The invention pertains to shielded connectors for closely spaced terminals. More specifically, the invention pertains to a plug type connector to provide a shielded circuit connection for high frequency signals between a coaxial wire lead and any one of closely spaced terminals on a terminal board.
Frequently, it is necessary to make circuit connections in communication apparatus which carry high frequency currents. Such connections need to be shielded, as are the adjacent lead wires, to avoid inductive interference between circuits or from other external sources. A particular example is radio apparatus where switching between transmit and receive modes is most effectively handled by a relay. Mobile and portable radios require small, light-weight elements including such switching relays. These small or so-called miniature relays are generally sealed in metallic cases with mounting means such that the case becomes part of the apparatus ground plane. Coil and contact terminals are then brought out of the case through insulating beads in a header or terminal board which is part of the case grounding plate or plane. Obviously, these terminals are quite closely spaced, for example, a minimum of 0.1 inch in each direction between terminals is an accepted standard. Since radio frequency circuits pass through the relay contacts, shielded connections must be made to the external contact terminals or are at least desirable. Lead wires to these terminals are normally of the coaxial cable type having a center conductor and a sheath which may be grounded to shield the circuit from external interference. The close spacing of the terminals on the relay header or terminal board thus creates a problem in providing shielded circuit connections between the coaxial cable lead and the relay contact. This problem, of course, is not exclusive to the relay connections but also exists in connecting shielded circuits to other closely spaced terminals, e. g., on printed circuit boards.
Accordingly, an object of my invention is a shielded circuit connector for closely spaced terminals.
Another object of the invention is a circuit connector which provides a shielded connection between a coaxial cable lead and a device terminal.
A further object of the invention is a terminal connector for completing shielded circuits to a plurality of closely spaced terminals on a control device.
Still another object of my invention is a coaxial cable connector for connecting high frequency (HF) circuits to contact terminals on a miniature relay.
Also an object of my invention is a coaxial cable connector arrangement for connecting radio frequency (RF) switching circuits to the contacts of a switching relay having closely spaced contact terminals.
A still further object of the invention are shielded terminal connectors for connecting RF circuits to closely spaced switching terminals utilizing coaxial cable leads, plug type contactors, insulation, and shielding ferrules sized to accommodate the close spacing of a plurality of connections without interference.
Other objects, features, and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following specification when taken with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.